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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22385986">In The Name of the Mouse!</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/FastPacedFreeFall/pseuds/FastPacedFreeFall'>FastPacedFreeFall</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fluff, Gen, Multimouse Appreciation Week 2020, give me a character and I WILL make them a weeb</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-01-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-01-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 17:42:31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,006</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22385986</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/FastPacedFreeFall/pseuds/FastPacedFreeFall</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Every kwami is an individual, just like every human. And Marinette finds a surprising common ground when it comes to bonding with Mullo.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug &amp; Mullo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>161</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>In The Name of the Mouse!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I'm making an effort to post more often this year, starting with this, and Friday's prompt.</p>
<p>This is the Wednesday prompt, "Mini Mouse" </p>
<p>Hope you guys enjoy, and please review!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/>
<p>Whatever Marinette was expecting when it came to growing skills as a new Guardian, this certainly wasn't it.</p>
<p>Despite being pretty blindsided in acquiring the title, she threw herself into making sure she'd be the best Guardian she could be, for the sake of the kwami that now called her bedroom home. One of her responsibilities was getting to know each kwami on a more personal level outside of calling them into battle. It made for some interesting conversations—she had surprisingly engaging talks with Kaalki about historical figures' private lives, and discovering out of the way tea shops with Wayzz became a nice way to relax. Longg convinced her to take up bo staff training, and though fitting it into her already packed schedule was difficult, she found that it encouraged her out-of-the-box thinking against akuma. </p>
<p>Mullo was a little different. The mouse kwami was fascinated with the internet, and quickly found their way onto a popular anime streaming site. Other than quickly running them through ways to <em>not</em> download a virus onto her desktop, Marinette was content to let them happily binge through a few series.</p>
<p>Things got a little nuts when they discovered the Magical Girl genre.</p>
<p>“It's so colorful! And the music is so happy and upbeat! And there's so much focus of the power of love and friendship, what's not to love about it?!”</p>
<p>“Note to self,” Marinette muttered to a giggling Tikki. “Don't let Mullo and Adrien meet unless I suddenly want to sit through three-hour debates on what does and does not count as a magical girl character.” She loved Adrien to death, but the boy was an unrepentant weeb. She liked anime well enough and had her favorites, but a childhood spent restricted to the mansion and a geeky disposition meant he was on a whole other level.</p>
<p>They made their way through Tokyo Mew Mew(“It's so much like when the zodiacs are out together!”) and Maid-Sama, and Mullo liked both well enough, but it wasn't until they started Sailor Moon that things really got out of hand.</p>
<p>It was like the kwami had been summoned to the outside world for the first time. By the time they finished the first season(and Marinette will fully admit to getting just as teary over the Senshi's deaths as she did as a little girl), Mullo was practically vibrating with glee.</p>
<p>“I-is there more?! Please tell me there's more!”</p>
<p>“Oh god, what have I started...”</p>
<p>And it continued on like that. Marinette designed, or did her schoolwork, or discussed strategy against Hawkmoth with Wayzz and Tikki, and Mullo could be found glued to her desktop in the background, either binging through the next season or discussing the show on a message board. They even tried their hand at fanfiction, and garnered a decent following once Marinette made them their own account with a burner e-mail. It was pretty cute, she had to admit; Mullo got so excited over a new transformation or power they'd start squeaking, and she bit her lip against a coo every time. They even picked a favorite senshi.</p>
<p>“Really? Chibi Moon?”</p>
<p>“Yes!” Mullo's whiskers twitched as they bounced in place on her desk. “She started as a bratty, lonely girl, but then she grows into a hero! Ah, it reminds me of some of my past wielders, some of them weren't anything like what you expect a hero to be, but working with me helped them express the best parts of themselves!”</p>
<p>And what could Marinette do but smile at that? “Mullo sure has been having a lot of fun with this,” she murmured to Tikki, watching the mouse flit back to their editing.</p>
<p>“I'll say,” Tikki giggled. “But I'm not surprised—Mullo's always loved stories, especially stories about friendship. I think Mullo misses having a wielder, sometimes.”</p>
<p>“Oh yeah?”</p>
<p>“Mhm. It's always fun to be with the others in the box, but being cut off from the world and only brought out every few decades can be isolating, too, and Mullo's always been very fond of humans.”</p>
<p>Marinette bit her lip, turning her eyes back to the focused mouse. “That's... kind of sad. I wish I could fit them with a holder, but I'm worried about putting out any more of the Miraculous until I get a better idea of Hawkmoth's next moves.”</p>
<p>“We'll figure it out soon enough. Hey, isn't the Lunar New Year this weekend? Maybe we can make a gift for Mullo! That would make them happy!”</p>
<p>Marinette hummed, head tipping to the side in thought. “It is the year of the rat, but what to make...”</p><hr/>
<p>Mullo's usually so good at patience, but the idea of a surprise from their new Guardian has the mouse spinning in midair as they clamp their paws across their eyes. Their ears twitch, listening to the other kwami chattering excitedly around them, a rare chance for all of them to be out of the box together. “Can I see yet, Miss Marinette?”</p>
<p>“Alright, Mullo, open your eyes!”</p>
<p>Red eyes blinked open, focusing in on the cloth in Marinette's outstretched hands. “Is...is that-”</p>
<p>“It's a Chibi Moon cosplay, just your size! I made a wig out of some yarn, too!”</p>
<p>The squeal that echoed through the room was nothing short of ecstatic. She couldn't even understand the squeaked comments flying out of Mullo's mouth at rapid speed, but the way they launched themselves into her cheek to hug her face was a pretty good translation. Mullo quickly slid the fuku and wig on, flashing the famous pose with an ear-splitting grin before flitting off to the other kwami.</p>
<p>“Looks like your idea was a big hit,” Tikki chirped.</p>
<p>“I'm just glad that my experience making doll clothes came in handy,” Marinette said, smiling as a game of “Sailor Senshi versus the akuma” broke out across the room.</p>
<p>This wasn't what she'd had in mind when it came to becoming the next Guardian, but as far as duties go? Definitely one of the better ones.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading!!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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